NEWS
Week ending 12th July 2013
LETTER FROM THE HEAD Dear Parents As we reach the end of this academic year it is with sadness that we bid farewell to a number of staff who are either retiring or moving on to new challenges. In the Junior School Mrs Garrard, Mrs Oatway and Mrs Cooper are all leaving after many years of service to the school (a total of 55 years’ service between them). Mrs Garrard has worked tirelessly with the Reception class over the years and has made many other contributions to the school such as organising the Junior magazine and putting up countless displays. Mrs Oatway has been a valued teacher of Year 3 and, amongst many other contributions, has instilled a love of gardening in many girls as a result of her club. She has also been the art co-ordinator and has had pupils successfully entering competitions and having their work displayed in London. Mrs Cooper has taught Year 1 very successfully over the years and, as English co-ordinator, has invited many authors into school to inspire the children in their own writing. They have all given so much to the school and generations of Croydon High girls are very grateful for their teaching and support as they progressed through the Junior School. The grounding that they have given has equipped so many girls for success in the Senior School and beyond. We wish them well. In the Senior School Madame Orange, who joined the school in 1990, is also retiring. Madame Orange has made a valuable contribution to the school over the last 23 years as a teacher of French, Head of Year and, more recently, Head of French. She has organised numerous trips, visits and exchanges that have instilled a love of French language and culture in the many girls that have been fortunate to be taught by her and we are very grateful for her the huge amount of work she has done over the years. Dr Wall is taking early retirement, after a successful teaching career at such schools as Trinity and St. Dunstan’s College; he joined us at the beginning of 2010 as Head of Physics. Mr Smith, teacher of ICT, moves on to Tolworth Girls’ School to join a large department and broaden his experience. His leadership of various outdoor activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award and annual ski trips has been greatly appreciated by the girls and his instigation of Operation Camp Out has added a valuable additional element to our Year 5 to 7 programme. Miss Egan-Smith joined the school in 2010 and has been a very successful Head of Chemistry. She has set high standards for the girls in the classroom as well as organising numerous activities that have inspired the girls to regard Chemistry as a very real career option. At a time when the recruitment of girls into science has proved a challenge nationwide she has done so much to open up the subject to all the girls here. She moves on to the Royal Hospital School, Ipswich as Deputy Head of Science and I am sure that she will be very successful in her new role. Mr Feldman, Head of Economics since 2011, has decided on a change of career and we wish him all the best for the future. Also, many thanks to Miss Prior, who has been teaching in the English Department for the last two terms, and every good wish for the future. We have had such a frenetic last week of term! This year’s Sports Day was blessed with outstanding weather and the girls responded with a day of excellent athletic competition. Fourteen records were broken during the day, as well as eleven brand new records established and the spirit of healthy rivalry between the houses made for a great day. Many thanks to the PTA for providing refreshments for the many parents who came to watch their daughters compete and to the PE staff who organised the event so efficiently. Congratulations to Eliot who won the House competition but also to all the girls who took part in such a marvellous occasion.